# AI.II.L — Water and Seaplane Characteristics, Seaplane Bases, Maritime Rules, and Aids to Marine Navigation (ASES, AMES) — Flight Instructor Airplane ACS

> AI.II.L from FAA-S-ACS-25, including the official objective, references, notes, and 28 exact knowledge, risk-management, and skill descriptions.

Canonical HTML: [https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/airplane/flight-instructor/ai-ii-l](https://www.check-ride.ai/acs/airplane/flight-instructor/ai-ii-l)

Site reference: [https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt](https://www.check-ride.ai/llms.txt)

## Official Task context

- FAA document: Flight Instructor for Airplane Category Airman Certification Standards
- Identifier: FAA-S-ACS-25
- Published source date: November 2023
- Aircraft category: Airplane
- Certificate or rating: Flight Instructor
- Area of Operation: Area of Operation II. Technical Subject Areas
- Task: Task L. Water and Seaplane Characteristics, Seaplane Bases, Maritime Rules, and Aids to Marine Navigation (ASES, AMES)
- Task code prefix: AI.II.L
- Official references: AIM; Chart Supplements; FAA-H-8083-2, FAA-H-8083-9, FAA-H-8083-23, FAA-H-8083-25; POH/AFM; USCG Navigation Rules
- FAA source library: https://www.faa.gov/training_testing/testing/acs

## Official Task objective

To determine the applicant understands water and seaplane characteristics, seaplane bases, maritime rules, and aids to marine navigation, can apply that knowledge, manage associated risks, demonstrate appropriate skills, and provide effective instruction.

## Knowledge elements

- **AI.II.L.K1** — Characteristics of a water surface as affected by features, such as:
- **AI.II.L.K1a** — Size and location
- **AI.II.L.K1b** — Protected and unprotected areas
- **AI.II.L.K1c** — Surface wind
- **AI.II.L.K1d** — Direction and strength of water current
- **AI.II.L.K1e** — Floating and partially submerged debris
- **AI.II.L.K1f** — Sandbars, islands, and shoals
- **AI.II.L.K1g** — Vessel traffic and wakes
- **AI.II.L.K1h** — Direction and height of waves
- **AI.II.L.K1i** — Other characteristics specific to the area
- **AI.II.L.K2** — Float and hull construction, and its effect on seaplane performance.
- **AI.II.L.K3** — Causes of porpoising and skipping, and the pilot action needed to prevent or correct these occurrences.
- **AI.II.L.K4** — How to locate and identify seaplane bases on charts or in directories.
- **AI.II.L.K5** — Operating restrictions at various bases.
- **AI.II.L.K6** — Right-of-way, steering, and sailing rules pertinent to seaplane operation.
- **AI.II.L.K7** — Marine navigation aids, such as buoys, beacons, lights, sound signals, and range markers.
- **AI.II.L.K8** — Naval vessel protection zones.
- **AI.II.L.K9** — No wake zones.

## Risk management elements

- **AI.II.L.R1** — Local conditions.
- **AI.II.L.R2** — Impact of marine traffic.
- **AI.II.L.R3** — Right-of-way and sailing rules pertinent to seaplane operations.
- **AI.II.L.R4** — Limited services and assistance available at seaplane bases.

## Skills elements

- **AI.II.L.S1** — Explain how float and hull construction can affect seaplane performance.
- **AI.II.L.S2** — Describe how to correct for porpoising and skipping.
- **AI.II.L.S3** — Identify marine navigation aids.
- **AI.II.L.S4** — Describe correct right-of-way, steering, and sailing operations.
- **AI.II.L.S5** — Assess the water surface characteristics for the proposed flight.
- **AI.II.L.S6** — Identify restrictions at local seaplane bases.

## Difficulty methodology

Difficulty calibration is ongoing for this Task. Observed difficulty is a privacy-thresholded check-ride.ai mock-oral practice proxy, not an FAA practical-test pass or fail rate. Underlying sample sizes and the private reporting threshold are not published.

## Use in practice

A mock examiner can ask a pilot to explain the published elements, apply them to the configured aircraft and airport context, identify risks, and defend a decision. Practice prompts are not represented as actual FAA examiner scripts or predictions of the questions a candidate will receive.